Saturday, July 7, 2018

* Stanford Joines, from St Croix, US Virgin Islands- lost his lovingly maintained J/36 PALADIN in the hurricanes of 2017.

For years he plied the waters of the Caribbean, sailing many of the
major winter regattas on the racing circuit with a crew consisting ONLY
of high-school age kids from the islands (mostly St Croix).

For the kids, it was a dream come true, and an opportunity to see a
world they never knew existed. Here is his latest progress report on
hoping to find a lovable J/105 to be donated to their cause for youth
development in St Croix and the Caribbean islands.

Also, my book is out on Amazon- “Eighth Flag- the untold story of the Caribbean and the mystery of St. Croix’s Pirate Legacy- 1493 to 1750”!

It is #14 for Caribbean History on Kindle so far, all 5 star ratings!! It is a great summer read.

I
found a famous pirate shipwreck, which then took me on journey of
discovery, finding many fascinating stories of a Caribbean long
forgotten. As soon as Netflix buys the rights, we'll get a new J/112e!”

“Cannibals. Conquistadors. Buccaneers. Pirates. Visions of cartoon
characters dancing around a cauldron with an explorer tied inside.
Balboa gazing on the Pacific Ocean. De Leon and the fountain of youth.
Pizarro conquering the Incas. Henry Morgan, in red, drinking spiced
rum. Smoke curling around Blackbeard as his cutlass slashes through the
air. … all children's tales that mean nothing.

Today, we do not know who any of these people were, how they came to do
what they did, or why they did it. The struggle for power, freedom, and
wealth that shaped the Caribbean for two and a half centuries has,
since John Barrie created Peter Pan, been relegated to the same literary
section as Barney the Dinosaur; yet, underneath the soil of the modern
world, the roots are still there. I started pulling them up on St.
Croix, and the roots led to more roots, and more. Islands connected,
nations connected, and legends came to life.

Officially, St. Croix has flown seven flags over the last 500 years.
Before the American flag and the Danebrog, the Spanish came for gold,
the Dutch to trade, the English to raid, and the Knights of St. John to
be in charge. The French built a colony only to watch it die of fever.
During all of those years, Pirates, Conquistadors, Freebooters,
Filibustiers, Corsairs, Buccaneers- whatever you call them- ruled the
Caribbean and called St. Croix home, stealing at sea whether they had
'permission' to do so or not, and paying no attention at all to whatever
European flag was flying. It is time to recognize our eighth flag. It
was black. This is the untold story of St. Croix and a Caribbean long
forgotten. Come. Sail with me.” Stan